Eunice Power - Nettle Soup

This month Eunice shares her enthusiasm for nettles:

Some of the most important health benefits of stinging nettle include its ability to detoxify the body, improve metabolic efficiency, boost immune health, increase circulation, improve energy levels, manage menstruation, minimize menopausal symptoms, heal skin conditions, protect kidney and gallbladder health, lower inflammation, increase muscle mass, regulate hormonal activity, prevent diabetes, lower blood pressure, soothe hemorrhoids, and improve respiratory conditions.

With all that in their favour, it’s no wonder that nettles have been an important traditional Irish food for centuries - and all that’s left to say is that they can also be delicious, especially when used in this pretty soup.

When picking, avoid polluted areas like roadsides, wear gloves and select only the soft young growth.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil or rapeseed oil
1 onion chopped
1carrot diced
1 leek washed and finely sliced
1 large floury potato, thinly sliced
1 litre vegetable stock
400g young stinging or dead nettles, washed, leaves picked
50ml cream

Method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat.

Add the onion, carrot, leek and potato, and cook for 10 minutes until the vegetables start to soften. Add the stock and cook for a further 10-15 minutes until the potato is soft.

Add the nettle leaves, simmer for 1 minute to wilt, then blend the soup.

Season to taste, then stir in the cream.

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More recipes from Eunice Power are available on www.eunicepower.com

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Eunice Power is a professional chef with over twenty years experience in the hospitality business. Her philosophy is to use fresh, seasonal, locally produced food, sourced organically where possible. 

Eunice has a successful outside catering company, writes about food (she is the author of an excellent cookery book written for local company Waterford Stanley) and teaches at Paul Flynn’s Tannery Cooking School, where her enthusiasm and zest for a life filled with good food are given free rein."